is it possible to be competent at work while still maintaining a lassez-faire attitude?

depends on job & definition of competence

seriously tho, managment is fo suckaz. i find myself...*caring*...way too much. about how well the store is doing, if my employees are working, what everyone's opinion on my work is, etc. and obv., this will not stand.

but at the same time, i'm worrying about all this because my job is dependant on these things. and although the pay and benefits = great, yadda yadda...a feeling of guilt for il*ing or blogging whilst at work is icky in extremis.

(also compounded by fact that, jess = moving across the country in less than 6 mos.?...so who gives a shit? but needs money, so can't get fired.)

I'm with you on the guilt trip Jess. I think the answer to your question is yes though. I have maintained a reputation of competency throughout my career while still being a lazy slob. I think it comes down to your ability to produce when the heat's on.

without a laissez-faire attitude they will rely too much on the 'extra' you give, until it isn't extra any more, but integral. then they'll want some more 'extra' on top

GUILT! GUILT! GUILT! Though a hell of a lot less guilt since taking redundancy (in 6 weeks). I've been staying away from IL* up to now for exactly that reason. Guilt eats me up in all areas of my life. Horrible thing, guilt.

And no, it's not possible to do a *good* job at work while maintaining a laissez-faire attitude. It may be in some jobs - manual or no-brainer jobs where a particular task needs to be done and that's it - but not in those that practically everyone here will have.

You'd be surprised, Mark C...

Mark, I think it's much easier in jobs that aren't manual. When your job is to sit in front of a computer and manipulate information your products aren't always as tangible as the bricklayers.

Hmm, maybe. But immediately outside my office they're starting to build the foundations for the new wing of University College, and I'm finding myself amazingly envious of the bloke who gets to use fuck off great big machinery to make holes in the ground, who goes home at the end of the working day knowing that the 20 holes he had to dig were done entirely competently, and that he couldn't have done any better. Almost everything I do in my job I could do better.

Do you think I create pressure for myself?

I don't think I'd survive on a building site, in any case...

Bosko Balaban Stats For Season

Name Bosko Balaban
Team Aston Villa
Total Appearances 0
Starts 0
Substituted 0
Total Minutes Played 0
Avg Minutes Played Per Start 0
Goals 0
Avg Goal Mins When Starting 0.0
Avg Mins Played/Goal Scored 0
Goals Scored As Sub 0
Number of Bookings 0
Total Booking Minutes 0
Avg Bookings Per Start 0
Number of Red Cards 0
Total Red Card Minutes 0
Avg Red Cards Per Start 0